Spinning. You’ll notice cyclists talk about cadence and spinning. This refers to the number of pedal revolutions per minute, or cadence. Try and maintain a cadence of 90-100 rpm on flat terrain and don’t let it drop below 75 rpm on hills A cadence monitor makes this very easy or count for 15 seconds and multiply by four.
Try and focus on pedalling as smoothly as possible. To do this concentrate on a few things:
- Don’t stamp on the pedals; rather push the downward leg through the entire movement and pull with the upward leg. Concentrate on eliminating the dead spots of the pedal stroke at
- 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock by imagine your leg kicking outwards at 12 o’clock and wiping your foot at 6 o’clock . Hold your upper body firm with your core (abdominal muscles) so as your legs have something to push against.
Build your training up slowly. Increase your distance incrementally by about 10-15% per week. Doing it this way will enable your body to recover and adapt from each training session and thus harness the gains you have attempted to make.
If you miss a session then don’t go out and do double tomorrow or think that it’s time to throw in the towel. The best procedure is to take it as an extra rest day and resume the programme the following day. It happens to all of us, sometimes schedules don’t dictate that training will be done that day, the weather’s abysmal, or you’re just too tired. Relax, and make the most of a bonus day!
